


Seasons of Love (SNS)

by Jurijyuu



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Forgiveness, M/M, SNS Christmas 2015, Supportive!Sakura, parents don't approve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 12:14:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5496701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jurijyuu/pseuds/Jurijyuu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is for SNS Secret Santa 2015 on Tumblr and is dedicated to pumpkiinspicelatte.<br/>It starts from when they first met, an instant pull to be together. Growing up with the person you love was bliss until someone doesn't approve. They tear Sasuke and Naruto apart and in the process, hurt just about everyone. </p><p>OR A story of Sasuke and Naruto growing up, falling in love and doing what they can to stay together. Modern AU. No one died.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Winter

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic that I've written and posted in years. It's the best I could put together in 12 days so I hope you enjoy. Happy Holidays!
> 
> None of the characters belong to me, they are all the brain children of Masashi Kishimoto. The plot is mine though I did get prompt from my secret santa.

The first time they met was in their first winter.

"Merry Christmas!"

In the doorway of the Uchiha household were the three members of the Namikaze family. The husband was tall with blond hair framing his face. He wore a sweater that was the same shade of blue as his eyes, or was it that his eyes emulated that same deep blue sweater? The wife reached just a little above her husband's eye level. She was stunning with her long red hair which stood out in the white background of winter snow. In her arms was the newest member of their family. Just two months old, the little boy was a beautiful miniature of his father with blond hair and blue eyes but the boy's eyes were a lighter shade of blue, like the sky and he had the strangest lines on his face, like whiskers. All three were looking at him with smiling eyes.

"Well, come in." Stepping aside to let the family in, he heard the rapid footsteps of his wife as she ran down the stairs. "Kushina!" Uchiha Mikoto all but tackled the redhead as she pulled her long time best friend into a hug. "Mikoto!!" The two women pulled towards each other, almost squishing the little bundle still in Kushina's arms. But the magic of women, mother's specially, was their unconscious awareness of children. The two hugged without so much as disturbing the blond nestled between them. Pulling away, his wife finally took in the little boy.

"Is this him?" She said in wonder, eyes scanning a little baby boy. A light flush adorned her cheeks as she looked at him. Fugaku smiled a how cute his wife looked as she fell in love with the child. He remembered how she'd looked at Itachi and Sasuke like that when they had been born. No doubt she'd already welcomed the boy in her heart. "He's perfect." She whispered with pure love.

He turned to his friend then. The man was also watching the little scene their wives made with a gentle expression. As if sensing his stare, the blond looked at him and grinned. "So where do I put the gifts?" He asked as he raised a big paper bag filled with presents. He smirked and led the way to the Christmas tree.

Minato almost laughed out loud as he finished setting down the last of the boxes. Minato was a loving man and he enjoyed giving presents to the people he cared about. It usually meant that they had a huge credit card bill by the end of December but that didn't matter. He enjoyed it and Kushina, though unhappy with how much her husband would spend, loved this side of him. It also helped that he was the mayor of Konoha and had a generous income. The Uchiha were also well-off, owning several successful hotels and minor businesses made possible by Fugaku, ambitious and prudent as he was. But Fugaku was also a competitive man and that's why Minato found it so funny that Fugaku would match him. The pile of presents they'd brought was as big as the pile of presents under the Uchiha's tree. Which was a sizable pile given his tendencies. 'Never one to be beat, huh old friend?' he thought to himself.

From the corner of the stairs, Itachi peered to see who had arrived. He recognized his aunt and uncle immediately. Turning away, the five year old made his way into his parent's bedroom and straight to the cradle at the foot of the bed. His little brother lay there, fast asleep. The little boy opened his eyes as soon as he'd sensed his brother approach. With a giggle, he stretched out his hand towards the older boy, asking to be picked up. "Sasuke, we have guests today. Behave, okay? You're meeting Kushina-sama and Minato-sama." He smiled at his little brother before gently picking up the boy like his parents had taught him. The warm weight in his arms felt so light and comfy. Setting Sasuke so that he would be comfortable, Itachi made his way to the living room.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw his eldest son arrive with a little bundle of black hair and sparkling dark eyes. He motioned for him to come and join them.

The three other adults noticed the boy's arrival and two eyes immediately landed on the bundle he carried.

Each couple settled down on the couches opposite each other. Kushina and Minato looked at the boy now in their arms. He was a pale little thing. He looked almost fragile but then he smiled and they could've sworn the boy did it to melt their hearts. "Minato, he's so cute! Look at him." The man raised a finger to touch the boy but tiny hands caught it and curious dark eyes studied the appendage. Minato, mayor of Konoha, the man everyone looked up to as their pillar of support, cooed.

In front of them, a similar thing was happening. Fugaku held the blond boy in his arms. "Mikoto, take him. I think I'll drop him." The boy he held was an angel from one of those renaissance paintings. Rosy cheeks, light skin, big blue eyes and blond hair. In a way, he'd felt just as nervous if not more so than when he'd first held his own sons. The little life seemed to glow brightly as it peered at him. His wife giggled at his foolishness and only reached out to gently stroked the boy's head. "Fugaku, I want another one." She smiled and he was sure that he blushed before understanding that his wife was mostly joking. "Maybe...when Sasuke is older." He silently grunted back.

Itachi sat on his mother's lap, studying the baby as he'd studied Sasuke on the day his baby brother was brought home. He was just as big as his brother and really cute too. But the babe was cute in a different way though he didn't have the right words to describe it. He didn't touch him and just admired the boy in his father's arms. Those big blue eyes turned to him and surprisingly just stared at him before an inexperienced arm moved as if trying to grab something but ultimately just turning into an adorably squirming bundle. Yes, he was just too cute.

With the introductions of the two new additions to the families made, the day went on to evening and they sat warmed by the fire place. "I think it's time for presents." The Uchiha patriarch announced. Having been tired out, the baby boys were now in Sasuke's cradle, sleeping side by side. Until one blue eye opened followed by the other. A pair of dark did the same. The wiggling his arms, Sasuke tried make enough noise to call out to his family. Why did they always leave him in the cradle? He didn't like being alone! His little hand brushed something warm beside him and he tried to touch it again. And again. And again. Curious to see what was in his cradle with him, Sasuke wiggled and squirmed until he succeeded in turning himself to face the thing. IT WAS AS BIG AS HIM!

Little Naruto felt something keep touching his side. It was actually really irritating and the first thing he wanted to do was cry out for his mother but then he felt the bedding shift and the thing stopped touching him. He managed to roll away until he felt something looking at him so he turned to the thing's direction. Sparkling dark eyes looked into crystal blue ones and they just continued to look and look. A chubby hand reached out to the person next to him and the person reached out a paler hand to do the same but stopped short just inches from actually making contact. Naruto almost cried when the person was too far away that his little arms couldn't close the distance. He struggled continuously.

Sasuke did the same, upset as the boy he was trying to reach. He continued to reach for him. Why did he have to move away in the first place!? Little Sasuke was frustrated.

After a struggle, little hands clumsily swatted each other. Eyes looked at each other again and just stared. Naruto felt so happy that he laughed. A sound so fitting for the season of joy and giving. Sasuke too felt joy so different from when his mother held him. Their tiny fingers touched and soon the giggles turned to silence as they fell asleep once more.


	2. Let it Bloom in Spring Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually, today I had my wisdom teeth pulled so I was pretty much knocked out. I thought that since I couldn't write anything, I'd post the chapters I'd already written. I hope it turned out fine. I'll go sleep some more now.
> 
> None of the characters belong to me, they are all the brain children of Masashi Kishimoto. The plot is mine though I did get prompt from my secret santa.

Two eight year old boys were taking a nap and a pair of dark eyes watched them intently. The brush strokes came to him so much easier whenever he painted the two boys. The spikes of Naruto's hair, the calm features of Sasuke's face, the perfect shade of black, orange, dark blue and pale skin. He supposed that it was just because he'd had so much experience with seeing them together. At the age of six, Uchiha Itachi had shown a talent for the arts. His favorite subject was his baby brother and wherever his baby brother was, Namikaze Naruto was sure to be as well. The two got along so splendidly together that it was difficult to convince the boys that they were in fact, not brothers and no, Naruto could not sleep over every night and no, Naruto, you shouldn't try to hide Sasuke whenever it's time to go home. The two were almost inseparable.

And so for the past seven years, Itachi had drawn and painted hundreds of pictures of his family, his life and his friends and there was never one that did not have Sasuke and Naruto together.

Fugaku looked in on the boys in the living room. The familiar sight of Itachi painting the younger boys comforted him and he left to go find his wife. He found her sitting in his study, reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Her dainty feet were curled up underneath her. He strode to her, stopping just as he'd reached her side. She did not look up to greet him but she shifted over so that she could be closer to him. "Are the boys asleep?" she asked in her calm way. He placed a kiss on her cheek as he told her yes before taking a seat himself and looking over the summer events they had planned for the hotel guests. He lived for times like these where all was at peace, the times where he could admit that he was happy and content with his life. Some time later, he felt his wife move towards him and he found his lap occupied by the raven-haired beauty. His usually stoic face smirked down at the woman as she herself smiled coyly at him.

"The flyers for next month's spring festival finished printing today." She told him. "Good. Did the Akimichis send the information for their son's birthday party? It's also next month." The woman placed a gentle hand and combed it through his hair. "They did. As usual, they want to be responsible for the catering themselves but the guest list is larger than we expected. We should hire more servers just in case. I was also thinking of asking the Aburames for decorations...."

Unbeknownst to the two adults, two little boys were watching them. "Boys, you shouldn't be spying on them." Itachi, ever the more sensitive one, wanted his parents to have their alone time. He knew that three children, well two really since Itachi himself was very independent and well-behaved for the most part, usually kept his parents from bonding with each other as married couples should. Both boys looked at him before Naruto opened his mouth. "But Itachi-nii. This is the only time we ever get to see adults all lovey-dovey. And we're grown boys now. We need to know these things so this is research." The blond was starting to sound like his godfather. Itachi made a note to tell Minato-sama about that.

Sasuke nodded in agreement. "Come on. Please Itachi-nii." The boys pouted and he knew that he couldn't resist them. He thought about it. He knew his parents. They weren't overly affectionate most of the time. The display they were putting on now was private, however. He then heard what the adults were talking about and he smirked. "Alright. But just for a little while. You should give them their privacy after all." With that, the genius artist walked away. He was sure the boys would become bored with the discussion before long. He was almost finished with his painting too.

As usual, Itachi had been right. Thirty seconds into watching, the boys were bored. "Aww man. They're talking about business stuffs again." Naruto pouted. Below him, Sasuke also grunted in disappointment. He had been hoping to learn a thing or two about what couples did when they were together but he should have known his workaholic parents would talk about work even in their free time. He felt Naruto leave and he was about to follow when he saw it. His mom turned a pretty shade of red when his dad suddenly kissed her, almost knocking her off his lap in the process. She'd kissed him back and they remained oblivious to the world around them.

Sasuke had seen adults kiss plenty of times. Naruto's parents always did whenever they got home. His parents did as well. His mom always kissed their cheeks before they left the house and whenever they got back and they always did the same so Sasuke could say that he had plenty of kissing experience. There was something in the way his parents were kissing this time though. Their lips were stuck together longer and their hands kept touching each other and they looked like they were enjoying this much more than they usually did. He didn't notice that his face had turned red and for some reason, his brother's voice rang loud and clear though his mind "...they need their privacy.." Sasuke quietly backed away, trying to forget what he'd just seen to save himself from sensory overload.

It was a few weeks later when he'd thought about it again for the first time. They were at Akimichi Choji's birthday party and they'd been given ice cream. Licking his vanilla flavored cone methodically, making sure not to drip because only little kids couldn't eat ice cream cleanly, he watched as his best friend set up their latest prank. "Sasuke, you have the scissors?" The blond asked him as he licked his own chocolate cone. The pale boy reached into the back of his pants and pulled out a pair of sharp scissors from under his shirt and handed it to his friend.

Beneath them, the crowd of guests were gathering around the enormous round layered cake decorated with red icing and letters reading "Happy Birthday Choji" in white sugar frosting. The cake stood at least as tall as Itachi. The said raven-haired boy was double checking to make sure that his parent's present to the birthday boy was properly ready to be executed. Caged butterflies fluttered hidden from view, awaiting for the signal to be released. The Aburames had surely outdone themselves with this. The thirteen year old was sure to commit that image to memory and paint about it later.

Back above the cake, Naruto positioned a heavy bag of water from the ceiling and once he'd cut the rope, it would come falling down and splattering everyone in sugar frosted goodness. He was hoping for a food fight. Blue eyes studied everything going on downstairs and waited for the right timing. They were starting to sing happy birthday.

Sasuke heard Naruto softly sing happy birthday to their friend as his hand readied the scissors to snip. He glanced at his best friend and noticed how pink his lips had gotten from eating the cold ice cream. He remembered it then. The pink of Naruto's lips was like the blush on his mother's face that day and suddenly, he felt tempted. He unconsciously leaned closer to get a better look.

"Hey Naruto." At the call of his name, the blond turned to look at him.

He'd pressed his lips to Naruto's then. 

He faintly registered a round of cheers and the snip of the rope being cut and the screams of surprise as cake rained on the guests. He almost forgot about why thousands of butterflies were suddenly fluttering about around them as he felt them fluttering in his stomach. He'd felt the world pause as if taking a photograph of every detail of this kiss and Sasuke knew that this was somehow important enough that the world should stop for a moment to let him have this and ingrain it in his memory. When they stepped back from each other, their faces were red and their lips tingled pleasantly. Sasuke decided that he loved that red on Naruto. Naruto decided that Sasuke had looked exactly like the tomatoes he so loved. And they both thought the other was beautiful like that.


	3. Separation of Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out longer than I thought it would be. Holidays have become busy so I ended up writing this as I was getting my hair cut and waiting for mom to finish shoe shopping. 
> 
> What I really wanted to warn you about was that I have no idea how fights go since I rarely fight with anyone but my brother and we usually just walk out and pretend it never happened so excuse my attempt at a fight scene. It's pretty short.
> 
> None of the characters belong to me, they are all the brain children of Masashi Kishimoto. The plot is mine though I did get prompt from my secret santa.

Sasuke fidgeted. Naruto was seriously starting to worry now. Sasuke never fidgets. Uchihas were physically incapable of showing discomfort and here was Sasuke defying the laws of nature itself. He turned his eyes back to the TV screen where they were watching the Walking Dead. This was another thing. Sasuke never watches TV unless it was the news or a really good movie. He never watched suspense shows, specially one where he could predict what was gonna happen.

"He's gonna die in this one." Sasuke pointed out.

See. He wasn't really interested in the show. Naruto figured something was bugging his best friend/boyfriend and he was taking comfort in the predictability of TV.

Sasuke sighed when the episode ended. He wasn't surprised when the blond next to him went straight to turning off the TV. He knew that the blond had already caught on. Part of him hated how Naruto could read him so easily. Most of him wouldn't expect anything less from the boy that he'd known all his life.

"Wanna tell me what's going on?" Naruto turned to completely face Sasuke. Those sky blue eyes were turning stormy with worry. This made Sasuke sigh.

"Remember my birthday?" Sasuke took a little satisfaction from the blush that dusted those whiskered cheeks.

//Sasuke's birthday //

As the CEO's son, Sasuke and Itachi never had simple birthday parties. Being Naruto's best friend meant that the blond found a way to take Sasuke away from all of that before the night ended. Which was what they were doing now. Sasuke ducked under the table as another guard passed by. "Typical. Even the security guards are trying to stop us now." Naruto tsked. Sasuke just rolled his eyes. Of course it would happen. After last year, they couldn't even find Sasuke for his birthday. Now his parents were determined to keep him from disappearing and causing half of Konoha's police forces to go on a manhunt. His cousin Shisui had had a field day trying to find them last year.

Naruto and Sasuke creeped around and finally got out of the party after 10 minutes of dodging and hiding. The boys ditched the formal wear that they had been forced into and wore their comfortable everyday clothes of orange and white for Naruto and black and blue for Sasuke. No. They did not color coordinate. It just so happened to turn out that way.

Walking along the streets of Konoha at early evening, the boys were headed for the park that would eventually lead them to a trail to the top of Konoha's most famous monument, the Hokage Mountain. It was more of a cliff really and it had the faces of Konoha's most beloved mayors sculpted on. The last one to the very right was Naruto's own father and Naruto hoped to follow in his lead one day.

Arriving to their destination, Naruto covered the raven's eyes. "Seriously Naruto?" The blond felt his best friend's eyes roll under his fingers. "Come on Sasuke. What's the point of secretly doing all of this if I can't even see how surprised you will be?" He chuckled as he lead the boy to the spot of the big reveal.

Sasuke smirked. Of course, Naruto planned all of this while keeping him in the dark as to what exactly the blond was planning for his birthday this year. Sasuke would never admit it but this part was what he really loved. Naruto's hands on him, his vision gone which only enhanced his awareness of the body carefully, gently guiding him. He loved it just as much as he loved him. It reminded him of six years ago when they first kissed. All he saw was Naruto then. All he felt was Naruto now.

Slowly, the fingers retreated and he saw the set up for the first time. The setting summer sun cast a bright glow of orange onto their town. Not too far away was a tent, a hand made fire pit, a blanket and a picnic basket. Naruto walked over to a cooler and pulled out a cake. "Happy Birthday Sasuke!"

From then until evening, they talked and ate the cake with ramen and tomatoes. They snuffed the fire out as soon as they finished eating so that no one would see the flames. They laid under the stars and fell asleep next to each other.

Sasuke felt happy on the walk home the next morning. No one had found them and he got to spend time camping with Naruto who was also genuinely pleased with his successful surprise. Suddenly, the blond stopped and had a far away look in his eyes as if too caught up in his own thoughts. Sasuke dutifully stirred his friend to the side and waited for his thought process to finish. He wasn't really expecting the shy look that bloomed on his friend's face when his eyes focused on him again.

"Hey Sasuke?" Naruto started. He had no idea why it took him so long to think about it or why he only felt like asking now but he wanted to. It felt right. "Do you wanna be boyfriends? I mean, my boyfriend?"

Sasuke stood there unmoving for the longest time before a small smile that busted into a full on grin appeared on his face. "'Bout time you asked, dobe." He said before pulling the blond boy into a hug.

"Teme! If you wanted to be my boyfriend, why didn't you ask? As if I could say no to you." Naruto laughed and complained as he hugged back. His face was probably blushing right now. He could feel the heat of it but he wasn't sure if that was just Sasuke's warmth filling him up. He honestly wasn't sure. When he pulled back, the raven had that serious scowl on his face like he was scolding a child but he was also blushing so it made him look cuter.

"Because I kissed you. That time. I wanted you to make the next move. Besides, I knew I liked you. But I didn't know if you liked me back that way. Can't be too sure when it comes to us."

Naruto grasped his pale hand and continued the walk to Sasuke's. "I guess you're right. Before I figured I was in love with you, I already loved you like family..." He stopped there. Not wanting to let the words come out because he knew Sasuke would say he was being cheesy. He couldn't help it though. 'Mr-perfect-boy' liked him like love too.

The two were almost reluctant to part when they'd reached Sasuke's door. They hadn't said anything for the rest of the walk home, too caught in their own blissful worlds. But somehow, their hands stayed connected. When Sasuke opened the front door with his key, he had been expecting the reprimand and the scowl on his parents like every year. Beyond the door was the Uchiha matriarch smiling at the two boys. Beside her was Sasuke's father with the expected scowl.

The couple couldn't say that they weren't expecting Sasuke to be spirited away by the mischievous blond. They felt defeated by the boy. Konoha's best security couldn't find the blond when he didn't want to be found. Still, they were minors and should know better than to stay out so late with only a note saying they'd be back by morning. Any scolding that they had prepared died as soon as Sasuke opened the door. He looked the same but they were his parents. They knew him better than anyone else except for Naruto. An aura of pure happiness was coming out from the usually collected boy.

Fugaku frowned deeper when he realized that all his mental preparations to talk to Sasuke about his responsibilities were going to be put on hold. He didn't want to ruin the boys' good mood. "Breakfast is ready. Would you like to come in for some pancakes Naruto?"

Mikoto could feel how her husband had felt like pouting in protest at her then. She knew that he'd had this big speech ready for when the boys returned from where they'd disappeared off to last night. But they were practically glowing in the morning light. She hoped Itachi would show up and get a look at them. Her eldest was bound to paint hundreds of pictures off of this one moment. Then she felt said boy peek from the kitchen. Good. She'd pester him about it later.

"No thanks Mikoto-sama. Mom most likely wants me home asap." He was surprised that his parents hadn't stayed at the Uchiha's like they had last year when they'd waited for the two to come back.

The raven-haired family started migrating to the kitchen leaving just him and Naruto alone at the front door. When Sasuke turned around to face his boyfriend, he froze completely when he felt warm lips touch his. It was a chaste kiss. He'd barely kissed back when the blond pulled away again. "See ya later teme." And then Naruto was gone and walking down the street.

Sasuke stood frozen in place. His facial muscles tried very hard not to grin as happily as he felt like. His family would notice and he didn't want to tell them just yet. 'How do they even feel about gay relationships?' He thought belatedly as he watched the blond disappear around the corner. "See ya dobe." He smirked, excited to see his boyfriend later.

Fugaku froze on his way to call Sasuke again. He'd seen the two boys kiss. A cold feeling shot through his body followed by the intense heat of anger.

//end flashback//

"Y-yeah. What about your birthday?"

Sasuke frowned more as he remembered.

//flashback//

Sasuke walked into the kitchen and sat in his usual seat. A slice of his birthday cake from yesterday's extravagant party was in front of him. He was almost too blind with happiness to really notice things around him. He didn't notice the harsher than usual scowl on his father's face or the tension that sprang when the other two occupants of the kitchen felt the older male's change in demeanor.

"So what's got you in such a good mood otouto?" Itachi started. He'd asked the question in hopes that his father would calm down and be distracted by the youngest's story. He hadn't known that he'd set off a land mine.

Sasuke blushed. That was it.

Fugaku snapped his newspaper open harshly. Not looking at Sasuke, he coldly stated "You are not to see Naruto for awhile."

"What!?" Sasuke almost screeched in his pre-pubescent voice. Mikoto wasn't far behind in surprise. "Why all of a sudden dear?" She worried. This was such a sudden turn of her husband's mood and she had no clue what could have set it off.

Fugaku continued to read though his eyes narrowed before looking at his youngest son. The boy had just started puberty and now he was kissing...another boy! He had never felt so outraged. "I don't approve of you going around kissing other boys. Until you promise to end whatever perverted relationship you have with him, I will not allow you to see him."

Sasuke repressed a shiver at his father's glacial tone. He'd said everything evenly but the ice in his voice perfectly conveyed the storm beneath his stony Uchiha exterior. How could he do that. What did he have against him kissing other boys? Wasn't it his right to choose? And this was Naruto! His father knew him. He knew how close they were to each other.

Seeing the thousand-mile-a-minute-down-a-cliff-of-despair expression her child now sported, Mikoto tried to jump into the conversation before serious damage could happen but her boy beat her to it. "I've loved Naruto for a long time. You can't tell me not to see him. I won't let you!" Sasuke yelled at his father with all the outrage he felt at the thought of not seeing his blond sunshine again. Fugaku's hand was also faster than the woman and the slap registered too late for all of them to realize what had just happened.

The eldest man froze as he accounted for the stinging of his palm, the shock on all of their faces and the bright red mark on his youngest's pale cheek. The shame came quickly then as he realized that he had raised a hand against his son but Fugaku was a proud man who rarely ever felt shame for anything. His pride made the words that came out to be the opposite of the apologies he'd really wanted to say.

"You will stop seeing him or I will make it happen. Your choice Sasuke."

//end flashback//

Sasuke hadn't seen Naruto that day. He had told him a lie about how his parents wanted to take him out as their birthday present. It wasn't because he was afraid of his father's threat. He hadn't wanted Naruto to see the bruise he'd received because he knew Naruto would blame himself or worse, lash out against his father. His mother had been too horrified about what had happened but she stayed to get him an ice pack and a hug of comfort. His brother had left to calm their father. It had been a tension filled two weeks in the house before Sasuke had decided to see his beloved blond boyfriend. That night he'd gotten back, his father made good on his threats.

"...Father doesn't approve of us. He's sending me to boarding school in Oto."


	4. Fall(ing) in love again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another super long chapter. 
> 
> None of the characters belong to me, they are all the brain children of Masashi Kishimoto. The plot is mine though I did get prompt from my secret santa.

School was starting up again soon and Naruto was as excited and bouncy as ever. Or at least, as much as he could be which was still a lot but it wasn't the same as four years ago. Kushina felt a tear try to run free for her baby boy. She remembered when his sunshine had started to cloud up.

They had just gotten home to find two fourteen year olds crying heart wrenching sobs as they hugged each other tightly, like willing their bodies to mash and mold together. She remembered the terror on their faces when she and her husband had asked what was wrong. She remembered how the two had run that time. They were so fast. They had dodged passed them and left through the front door hand in hand. All the while, they were still crying.

She'd called Mikoto then and told her what had happened but her best friend had only remained silent before she had told her it was best to wait.

So they waited.

It was raining and well passed midnight when their boy had come home. The raindrops did nothing to hide his tears though and his bright blue eyes looked like perfect orbs of captured rain clouds from the sky outside. He locked himself in his room for awhile and no matter what pleading she and her husband did, no matter how much ramen they had tried to bribe him with, he stayed locked away with his misery.

She remembered when he'd finally come out. When they asked him what was wrong, he had told them that "Sasuke's leaving. He's going to a boarding school in Oto." She remembered the dead look in his eyes when he'd said that and she knew that that wasn't all of it.

She and Minato had tried to get a hold of their friends then to try and talk them out of sending Sasuke away or trying to set Naruto up to go with him but the couple simply refused. More like Mikoto clammed up and Fugaku was being an arrogant prick, she thought bitterly.

The day Sasuke had left was when they'd gotten the whole story. It started when the boy was about to board the train. His family who would help him set up his room was already inside. The two stood staring at each other intensely and they had one of those moments they had come to recognize as the boys communicating with their eyes.

Naruto had run up to him as the train was about to leave and pulled him into a kiss. It was quick and sudden and it held all the passion of two lovers who didn't want to be apart.

Naruto had stood there watching the train leave with tears running down his whiskered cheeks. He stood there looking heartbroken and destroyed for all the world to see. But she also saw the determination in his brow and the fists clenched tightly as if still holding on to whatever he had just lost. As if holding himself back from running after his treasured friend.

The car ride was silent. No prodding or words of comfort could stir Naruto from his thoughts and it wasn't until the front door had slammed shut when their whole family was inside that Naruto told them the story with a shaky breath. His eyes glistened with unshed tears at the memory of their first kiss at the age of eight. His cheeks blushed a rosy tan when he'd told them about Sasuke's birthday and how he'd asked if they could be together. His jaw tightened at the memory of telling him about leaving, about Fugaku's disapproval and about not being able to do anything to stop it short of spiriting Sasuke away but he couldn't do that. They would get caught and they wouldn't survive.

It was at the end though when the boy looked at them dead in the eye and asked in a voice broken from tears, grief and fear "Do you hate me now too?"

They pulled they're little fox into their arms then and sobbed for him. They told him the truth. That they loved him regardless of who he loved so long as that person treasured him and they saw how much Sasuke loved him too. The Namikaze family spent all night together in warm hugs and tears and promises of acceptance and unconditional love.

The next few years after had her and her husband trying to hunt down the Uchihas to knock some sense into them. All they had for their efforts was Naruto's sad smiles and whatever lies and inconvenient circumstances their friends would give them as an excuse to be away.

It had been four years since the head family of the Uchiha had been in town.

It was finally senior year and Naruto couldn't wait for it to be over already. The last four years had seen a dramatic change in the blond. He'd eased up on the pranks and focused more in his studies. He'd taken to working out with his friend Kiba and Lee. More and more often, people would catch him in serious thought and an even more serious demeanor. The people of Konoha could say that the town prankster had finally matured. Those who knew him enough however, knew that he had stayed the same and that all these changes had been for one reason alone and that was a certain raven haired boy. Naruto looked at the autumn sky once more. 'In a few more months,' he thought. 'In a few more months, I'll see you again, Sasuke.' He planned to move to Oto after graduating. He was already on the track to graduate early.

Sakura, resident pinkette and No. 1 ranking student of Konoha High School, watched her blond friend with a contemplative stare. They'd become good friends around four years ago when she'd accidentally lashed out at him in her heartbreak over her long-time crush, Uchiha Sasuke, leaving. She'd been irrational, emotional and almost hysterical in her grief but even that hadn't stood a chance when she'd looked into those stormy blue eyes. Somehow, the girl recognized that what she felt was only a tiny portion of what the usually sunshine happy boy felt. In that one moment, the storm in those eyes had laid waste to all her childish hurt and irrationality and for the first time, she saw what true devastation was. She hadn't told him that the tears she cried afterwards weren't just for Sasuke who had left but also for Naruto who had been left behind. She didn't have the courage to even try to say that she understood because she knew that she couldn't.

"Hey, Naruto. Kakashi-sensei isn't going to be happy if we're late, again." She tugged on the orange scarf tied around his neck as she tried to usher him along the path to school. Naruto laughed at that. "But Sakura-chan, the rule says we aren't late if we get there before the teacher does. And Kakashi-sensei won't be there anytime before 8 o'clock. I swear it!" He clasped his hands behind his head and continued walking, in a much calmer pace, anyway.

Sakura agreed wholeheartedly. Their teacher just had to be the laziest bum on the planet. She and Naruto happened to have had him as their teacher since freshman year, which happened to also be the silver-haired man's first year teaching. She honestly thought that the only reason he remained a teacher was because all his students from their year passed with good grades. They all liked to think that they happened to be a very special year with some very smart and capable kids even though there were only nine of them. Otherwise, Sakura was sure that Hatake Kakashi would have been kicked out of Konoha High School for literally slacking on the job. But he was a good guy, she would give him that.

So the two took their time walking to school. They passed the gates as the bell rang and were at the classroom door five minutes later. Naruto slid the door open with Sakura following behind him. The pinkette bumped into Naruto's back when the blond unexpectedly froze in place. "Hey, Naruto! What-"

Naruto didn't hear her, however. He heard nothing really. Time just seemed to stop as if his mind had to pause in its functions to process what he was seeing. A figure stood in an unfamiliar high school uniform. Black hair spiked in the back and framed a pale face. The look could have passed for punk rock but on this person, it looked elegant, handsome. Onyx eyes glinted as they landed on him and he felt something akin to a cool burn start in the pit of his stomach and it continued to churn and inflame him in a way that was totally different from what he had expected when he saw the raven again. When he saw HIS raven again.

Kakashi looked at the stunned blond and the smirking boy in front of him. They seemed to be having an intense conversation without actually saying anything. When Naruto began to turn red, the teacher decided it was time to break them up before the blond keeled over from shock. "Naruto. Sakura. Nice of you to join us. I was just introducing our transfer student." Gesturing for the two to take a seat, the silver-haired man patiently waited for the two to follow his command. His patience almost gave out however when the only movement from the blond was the bobbing of his adam's apple as he swallowed whatever situation his senses were telling him. "Naruto, sit."

Sasuke took in as much of the blond as he could within a moment. Blue eyes, tan skin, sunshine hair and even the blush of the boy, 'Or maybe man to be more accurate,' remained as he remembered and he relished this observation very much. In his mind, it almost guaranteed that the blond was still his, especially that blush. He felt a familiar flame light up within him at the thought and he smirked at the still stunned man. "Dobe, don't tell me you can't even follow a simple 'sit' command?" That got him the reaction he expected.

"Teme, who the hell are you calling a dobe! And of course I know how to 'sit' but I ain't one of Kakashi-sensei's dogs!"

\--------Several weeks later---------

Kakashi wanted to smash something, particularly two teenage boys' heads. He admitted that ever since Uchiha Sasuke had joined his class, things had been much more interesting. It was not like the dynamic of the class had changed in anyway. Naruto and Kiba were still loud, Shikamaru tried to sleep all the time, Choji ate all the time, Sai still made awkward comments, Shino played with his bugs and everyone else either paid attention or were caught up in their own thing. Everything was normal. But something had changed. It was the air. It seemed so much more alive for some reason. It was charged with a shift in the auras of everyone, especially Naruto's and Sasuke's. Ever since the two had collided, they bickered and fought and got along. It was really fun to watch when he wasn't trying to teach anything and the two weren't busy trying to have eye sex. They stared at each other way too much, in his opinion. But they were happy and content. Everyone else seemed to follow. Sakura seemed livelier, happier. Shikamaru relaxed even more. Kiba got a hoot out of implying that Naruto and Sasuke might be in love with each other. The girls seemed torn between creating a new fan club for BL or just clubbing Kiba for implying that the two could be gay. In his opinion, the dog lover might not be wrong.

Sai wasn't all that good with people. He hadn't grown up in an environment that helped children develop emotional connections properly. When he had moved to Konoha, he had expected that rejection due to his inability to make people like him. What he hadn't expected was Naruto to punch him, call him an asshole and then forgive, understand and work with him at being more normal. He appreciated that a lot but he was still working on how to express that properly. So he watched people. Watched how they interacted and tried to understand them. Currently, he was watching Naruto eat lunch with the transfer student. The blond's expressions changed almost every other second from smiling to sneering to laughing to insulted. He knew that the blond was expressive but he hadn't ever seen the teen this animated. He seemed to glow even more like the sun than he already did and the only reason Sai could think of for this was the Uchiha. Ever since the two had started hanging out, Naruto had changed. Speaking of the Uchiha, he was calm and collected but Sai couldn't find the right word to describe the boy other than he seemed thawed out when it was just the two of them. Usually, the raven-haired teen was cool like frosty winter wind, gentle, harsh and totally uncaring of how others felt about him.

"Sai! What are you doing over there? Come have lunch with me." The two teens looked at him then. Naruto grinned at him warmly. Sasuke glared and he felt that winter wind-like expression push him away. He smiled back as best he could and turned away towards the person who had called him.

The only other blonde in their class looked at him with and almost expectant pout. They hadn't really made any plans to eat together, so why would she be calling him? The blonde's pout turned into a glare and she turned to walk away. "Fine. I'll just eat with Sakura then."

It clicked in Sai's head that maybe Ino had just wanted to spend time with him. Is this what it was like for someone to want to hang out with you? The blonde probably asked because she wanted to be his friend. She must've mistaken his confusion as rejection. She must have become upset with him and no longer liked him to be her friend. How did you get people to like you again. Naruto's voice drifted through his head. "You compliment them, for starters." Compliment...

"Hey beautiful! Wait up!" He caught her by the shoulder and tried to give his best smile. "I'd love to have lunch with you."

Ino blushed bright red because Sai had said that so loud that everyone in the hallway was looking at them now. "You...IDIOT!"

\---With Sasuke---

A few weeks had gone by since they'd caught that carbon-copy of his watching them at lunch. Sasuke still didn't like the kid. He was rude. He was weird. AND! Naruto seemed like his closest friend. It was annoying! It was like watching a dumb version of himself trying to cling to HIS dobe. Naruto wasn't helping any. He made time for the guy since he thought "Sai's pretty cool when he's not being weird. We can probably get him out of his awkwardness by showing him how people are supposed to be respected and treated. He's pretty much like a kid." Sasuke resented that. In fact, it wasn't just Sai. It was everyone. Everyone was Naruto's friend. He spent time with them and hung out with them when in the past, any moment outside of school was spent with him, his best friend, his BOYFRIEND. 

Sasuke paused at that. 

In the two month since he had moved back, he hadn't gotten the chance or the courage to ask Naruto if they were still together. They hadn't promised to continue their relationship even after he had gone to Oto. That was because of how much his father had been outraged by the blooming relationship.

'Blooming.' He thought bitterly. They hadn't even been lovers for more than a day and shit already tore them apart. At least, the blond hadn't gotten together with anyone else.

The years spent in Oto had been grueling. Their principal had been a perverted cross-dresser who he was sure was a pedophile, though he had never been caught. The classes we boring. Everything there felt like a prison. The town itself was cloudy for some reason. It was like even the sun didn't want to be associated with the place. At least, he'd made a good group of friends. They hadn't been too close but they hung out, got work done and staved the boredom away together. For that, he was thankful. He was sure to invite Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo over during break, if only to get those guys out of that hellhole for a week or two.

The phone rang downstairs and Sasuke tensed. Ring. Ring. He got up to answer it, walking as slowly as possible without seeming hesitant. Because Uchihas can't be hesitant. He almost released a sigh of relief when his brother was by the phone and signaled that he would answer it. When Itachi's baritone filled the room, Sasuke held his breath. When the older man continued to talk casually and with a small smile, Sasuke relaxed. It was only their mother. That was another pain that had plagued him in the last four years. His father had been stone cold towards him ever since. He was against Sasuke ever coming back to Konoha. He was against Sasuke being gay.

It tore his family apart. The move separated them from their closest friends. His mother and Itachi never liked Oto at all. His brother took the chance to go to a university in Ame the first chance he'd gotten. There was also strain between his parents. They had become more distant with each other. His mother was always tense, ready to stop a fight that was sure to erupt between her husband and their youngest. She was ready to stop the slap this time.

He hadn't exactly forgiven his father for the slap he'd received either. Thankfully, the man hadn't laid a hand on him since then though he made sure he was under complete control with curfews and constant vigilance.

"Mother says hi. They will be coming to visit for the holidays." His brother's voice cut his thoughts off and he shrugged in acknowledgement. On the inside, he cursed because that meant he couldn't spend the holidays with Naruto as he'd planned. He was hoping that by Winter break, he would have his blond again as more than just a friend.

\----With Naruto----

Naruto felt like he was in a perpetually happy mood. He had spent as much time with Sasuke as he could. They ate lunch together, partnered up for projects and even went home together. Sometimes they would walk around Konoha and Naruto would show him things that changed. It was peaceful. It was good. It was enough.

"Except that it isn't." Naruto turned to the source of the rumbling voice and sure enough, his father's assistant stood there. Naruto pouted at the older man to which he received a chuckle. "You were rumbling out loud again kit. " The man was taller than his father with red hair that fell in silky elegant wisps down his back. He'd been his father's assistant for years now and practically raised Naruto whenever his parents decided that they needed some alone time. The man knew all about his feelings for Sasuke and everything that he couldn't really tell his parents like how there were days he just hated the world and everyone specially Uchiha Fugaku. Like how he contemplated death sometimes because he'd missed Sasuke so damn much. The man knew all about that and only ever kept it a secret between the two of them.

"Yeah. It's not." Kurama sat down on Naruto's bed and waited for the blond to get his thoughts out. "It's just...I'm so damn happy that he's back. I knew that I was a mess when he left and now that he's here again...I just don't want to do anything that would cause him to have to leave. I'm not even sure if he still loves me like that anyway. What if he doesn't? What if he's not gay anymore? What if Fugaku-sama still won't approve. I don't know what I'd do if he had to leave again...." Naruto felt so frustrated. He hated how scared he was of things he was uncertain of. He hated how cowardly he sounded at that moment. "...but I want him so bad Kurama." He whispered the last part and covered his eyes as if to block out all his problems.

Kurama looked at the poor boy in love. He remembered one time that Naruto had punched him when he'd insulted the raven haired brat. That was over two years ago when he'd had enough of Naruto's moping. The blond broke his jaw. So he was pretty sure that the blond's feelings were intense and it was a whole new level of torture that the boy was going through just to be near the man he loved so much.

"What if he doesn't like men anymore? What if he falls in love with some girl? What if he starts looking at that Sakura kid? She's pretty, smart and no longer a fangirl. I bet Fugaku would be proud to have her as a daughter-in-law." He watched Naruto tense. His jaw clenched and his eyes began to water. Kurama leaned down and ruffled the boy's hair. "But I'm willing to bet HE won't like her." The red head stood up. "Because...what if he still loves you?"

Naruto followed Kurama with his eyes. Again, he felt tears escape him. He stood up and tackled the older man, sending them both flying to the carpeted floor. He continued to hug him and cried a little. "You're right. You're right. What if, right?" He laughed at how stupid he was being. The older man was laughing too below him.

The moment was cut short however by a fist slamming into the wall.

Sasuke was looking at his Naruto hugging some redhead and they were laughing. Naruto was even tearing up on top of the man. He'd arrived at the house to visit his favorite blond and treat him out to ramen and Kushina let him in. He followed the sounds of talking and rushed over when he'd heard a loud thud come from the blond's room. This sight was what greeted him. He couldn't stop himself from punching the wall in anger.

Those blue eyes landed on him immediately and they flashed in confusion then in fear. That served to tick Sasuke off more. "S-sasuke!? Wh-?" The blond wasn't allowed to finish talking as he dragged him off the man, down the stairs and out the door. He dragged the stuttering blond to his house.

They reached Sasuke's house in less than five minutes and the whole time, Naruto had tried to reason with the angry raven but he wasn't listening at all. All he got as a response was that what they needed to talk about was private and to wait. When did he get so strong that he could drag Naruto around with no problem anyway? He was shorter than Naruto now.

Sasuke opened the door and motioned for Naruto to get in to which the blond complied. Sasuke went straight for the living room and turned on the TV before starting to pace the floor in mad concentration. Naruto knew what that meant and sat down. Sasuke was collecting his thoughts and he probably should because he looked like a jealous boyfriend to Naruto right now and the blond didn't want to hope too much. He noticed that not much had changed inside the Uchiha house. The furniture was the same and even the cool yet welcoming ambiance of the house was the same.

A pair of pale hands slammed the couch on either side of his head, bringing Naruto's attention back to the raven. Their eyes met. "Break up with him."  
....  
"Huh?"  
Sasuke growled in frustration. "The redhead, dobe. I don't care how long you two have been going out. Break. Up. With. HIM." The blond only backed into the cushions more and raised his hands in a calm - down motion.

"Whoa whoa whoa teme. You got the wrong idea. That was Kurama. My dad's assistant. Remember? We aren't going out." The blond tried to defend but the scowl on Sasuke's face deepened then. He came closer and glared. "Are you fuck buddies then?" He continued to glare demanding answers.

"What!? No! NO! You just caught is at a weird time. I...was hugging him cuz he helped me figure something out and I kinda knocked us over." The raven seemed to calm a little and backed away just a bit. "And that something being?" Naruto blushed then. Was Sasuke seriously asking this now? Hw want mentally prepared! But then the raven grew impatient with him and started to glare closer again. Naruto decided to just tell him so he sealed a lump in his throat and braced himself.

"That something being...that I should ask you, if you want to go out with me. "

Sasuke paused as he let the words sink in. Naruto was asking him out again. He danced on the inside a those beautiful blue eyes focused only on him in anticipation for his answer. He wrapped his arms around the blond's neck and kissed him briefly as a reward. He pulled back for only a moment. "Good. I thought it was something stupid. "

Sasuke kissed him again with much more force this time. Raven angled them so that the sprawled into the couch with Sasuke straddling Naruto as they continued to kiss.


	5. Another First Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thanks for reading up until now. This is the last chapter and I'm glad to have made it before Christmas Day. Thanks a lot to my friend Sierra for the encouragement. And to my secret santa that I'm gifting this to, I hope you love this present because it has been my pleasure to make it.
> 
> Merry Christmas to all!
> 
> None of the characters belong to me, they are all the brain children of Masashi Kishimoto. The plot is mine though I did get prompt from my secret santa.

"Will you two quit it with the eyes? You're supposed to be keeping your relationship low key, remember?" Sakura rolled her own jade green eyes as her two friends were once again staring at each other intensely. Christmas was around the corner and they decided to all go shopping together but she was pretty sure the two boys wanted to just dip and do something a little more private.

Sasuke turned to her first before picking up a pretty pair of red stiletto heels. There was a thin red strap around the ankle with a decorative pink mini rose on the buckle. He silently handed them to her and she admired the shiny material it was made of. She was right to expect that the raven had a good eye for quality. "I think those would go well with that green and pink halter dress you got the other day." Naruto chimed in.

For a moment, Sakura thanked whatever fates allowed her to have two guy friends who had good taste and were actually a huge help with shopping. She was so getting them something extra nice for Christmas.

The trio continued walking around the mall until the crowd became too big so they made their way to Naruto's house for snacks instead. Cup of tea in hand, they made themselves comfortable in the living room. "So what do you have planned for the holidays?"

Naruto grumbled and crossed his arms across his chest. "Well, Sasuke and I can't really hang out cuz his folks will be back in town." Sasuke similarly frowned at that. It was quiet for a moment before Sakura suggested her idea. "How about we double date? I can ask Ino to join us....err...what's with the faces?"

"No offense to Ino-chan but she still has her fangirl tendencies. Plus, you're the only one in school that knows about 'us' and we'd like to keep it that way." Naruto pointed out. It was a nice idea though but Ino was also the gossip queen of Konoha High. They didn't want their secret out. No one was even supposed to know but Sakura just figured it out but it was her. She was quick to see things about her friends.

The only other people that knew were Naruto's parents and Itachi. The older Uchiha had walked in on them that day that they had gotten together again. He was quick to express that he didn't mind as long as they were more discreet about it. Naruto's parents were similarly approving as long as everything was PG rated around them. Naruto thought that this was nice. Even though they couldn't be open about it, it was still great to have someone's support. He hadn't known how much he'd needed his parents' approval until he'd gotten it. He was sure Sasuke was feeling the same way with his.

Minato and Kushina walked into the living room, having overheard the teens' topic. "We could always arrange a family get together like before for Christmas." The blond man turned to his wife. She nodded. "Yeah. I haven't seen Mikoto in forever. It'll be so fun. We could host it here too! Sasuke, go tell your parents. Ah! Then we have to set up. Gotta buy food and presents and..."  
And she was off telling everyone what to do before they could stop her. The family got busy preparing and pretty soon, Christmas had arrived.

Minato opened the front door to see three men and a woman. They all had raven hair and pale skin and Minato had to admit that they stood out against the snowy background in a very picturesque way. Each member was attractive by themselves with the Uchiha patriarch being the most masculine of the men. His sons had equally matured into fine male specimens but they had on them a likeness to their mother that elevated their handsomeness into full out beauty.

"Merry Christmas(!)."

Mikoto could barely contain her excitement upon seeing the blond mayor. She felt so happy to be welcome at the familiar home again. She had missed their friends so dearly. A delicious smell wafted from the kitchen along with the sounds of loud laughter. She recognized the happy tones immediately.

"Merry Christmas! Come in. Come in. Kushina's been dying to see you all." Minato stepped aside to let the family in. He gave each person a hug, even Fugaku who was visibly tense. He'd hoped that the man didn't cause a scene today.

Naruto and Kushina went out to greet their guests, both wearing Christmas - themed aprons to match their Christmas sweaters. They smelled of sugar and cookies and homemade Christmas dinner. "Merry Christmas!" They joined in to greet everyone with a hug. Naruto did not hesitate to hug Fugaku when he saw they man. It looked like he had aged a lot in the last four years and Naruto found that he had missed the strict guy who he'd once thought of as a second father. He found that part of him still did.

Fugaku watched the high school boys hug. It was friendly and fond but nothing inappropriate to which he was thankful for. When he hugged the blond boy, he felt equal parts relief and apprehension course through him. This boy had once been in love with his son. He was also most likely still gay. Fugaku didn't know how to feel about that but it was Naruto, the same baby boy he'd held and had been so fond of. He returned the hug gently.

An unknown tension seemed to seep out of everyone then and the evening proceeded as it had always had for the two families in the past.

The meal was shared and presents were opened and honestly, everything was going so well for them. Naruto was so glad that the older Uchihas did not hate him as he'd thought they did.

Sasuke also felt a huge amount of relief and he enjoyed Christmas in a way that he hadn't for the last four years. But unlike Naruto, he wasn't truly content with everything. He watched Naruto discreetly and couldn't help but admire the way he laughed. The light of the fire place illuminated the blond and he seemed to glow in the gentle warmth. The tree sparkled behind him and the colors of Christmas presents just fit with his joyous aura. Naruto was so beautiful, he couldn't help but think.

The Namikazes ushered the raven-haired family to the door, bidding them a warm good night. What they hadn't been expecting was Sasuke. The teen leaned into Naruto to place a chaste good night kiss on the blond's lips. The other teen had gasped in surprised and sent a billion questions through his eyes at him. Sasuke answered in turn and Naruto understood. The bond felt relieved then. He didn't like hiding something like his relationship to Sasuke but he was willing to take what he could get. But he should've known that for the raven, he took what he wanted and that was Naruto. His parents be damned.

The blow out was instantaneous. Fugaku pulled Sasuke away and practically pushed him into the streets. "I already warned you not to act on your foolish desires. Why do you insist on being like this? And in front of Minato and Kushina at that!?" He glared down at Sasuke feeling dread, frustration, anger and disgust well up within him. "Why do you insist on being a disgrace to the Uchiha name!?"

"Because I don't care of you're embarrassed that I'm gay. I love Naruto and he loves me. Four years apart didn't change that and nothing will. It's time you just accepted that. Accepted that this is who I am." Sasuke looked at his father hoping for the man to understand but showing only a determined expression on his face. He wasn't backing down on this. Not this time.

He tried to approach the man calmly, imploringly. "Dad. I know you're disappointed but you gotta see-" for the second time in his life, Sasuke had been slapped in the face.

"No Sasuke, I don't see." He turned away and into the streets, head held high and without another glance. "I won't have a homosexual son." The man walked away without paying them any mind.

Mikoto gained control of herself then. Again she couldn't stop her baby boy from getting hit. Again she had to watch her family tear itself up. With a worried glance at Sasuke who already had Naruto at his side caring for him, she ran down the street to her husband.

The Uchiha couple disappeared amongst the dark and the colored lights of the evening. Sasuke hung his head low, the stinging in his cheek no longer a match for the pain in his heart as he processed that he might have just been disowned.

Everyone was wordlessly ushered inside again. Naruto and Sasuke were in the blond's room, waiting for the shock to subside. Naruto felt torn between soothing his lover and going after his uncle. Who the hell would ever hit their children? He just didn't understand what was so wrong with letting Sasuke be happy. He was smart, handsome and talented in most things he wanted to do. He was the embodiment of Uchiha grace and power...except that he was gay but that area was Sasuke's choice. No one could tell him otherwise not even Naruto.

"All these years, I thought that he could come to accept it. For him it was always family first, carry the Uchiha name proudly and don't ever let anyone belittle you. I'm sorry you had to see that dobe." Dim onyx eyes looked at his blond love. The man sat next to him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders in comfort.

"I know it hurts a lot teme. You believe in the same things. Family and pride and all that stick up your ass shit you grew up hearing." That got a chuckle from the otherman. "You still love him and that's why it hurts that he can't accept this." He squeezed the man gently in emphasis. "I don't know how to fix things with Fugaku-sama. He's one stubborn old man. You decide. I'll be here for you whatever you want to do now."

"We're all going to be here for you." At the door to his room were his parents and Itachi. The older Uchiha had been the one that spoke. The approached the two with a thin stack of papers which the blond took and examined. There were tickets to Ame as well as contact details and some other information. The two teens looked at them questioningly.

Minato spoke. "We think that it'll be a good idea for you two to be away for a bit, until we talk some sense into Fugaku." Sasuke straightened up and had the papers back. "No. We'll just be running away from him." He didn't like the idea. It was cowardly and it would look like he was so ashamed of Naruto and his relationship that they'd up and vanished.

"This was my idea otouto." Itachi leaned against Naruto's desk still facing the boys. "Father mentioned to me that he was planning an arranged marriage between you and the Hyuuga heiress."

"What!?" Naruto sputtered out. He couldn't be serious. Arranged marriages in this day and age were unreasonable. And they were going to involve meek little Hinata at that. The girl didn't know anything about them.

"I know that you're friends with the Hyuuga girl but think about the bug picture. Father will try with all his might to split you two even if it involves having to out you to everyone in Konoha. I'm not saying that it's most likely the case, but there are people out there who would feel just as strongly against you as Father is. It'll be difficult at best without him causing up a scandal. That's why I'm suggesting that you two hide away where he can't get you. The addresses here are from friends of mine. They agreed to let you stay there and keep an eye out for you two until we can smooth this over. You can trust them." Itachi watched the boys consider this. In all honesty, the idea was over the top but he didn't want to have to watch his brother get hit a third time. He didn't want to have to see the two separated again so this was his best option. Ame was a very liberal town. If anything happened, the residents would be on Sasuke's and Naruto's side. Plus, Itachi was friends with the mayor. He could pull some strings with him so that the boys aren't idle while they were in hiding. Naruto could apprentice under the man to become mayor one day. That had been the boy's dream before.

Kushina kneeled next to her son. "It's not going to be long and is not forever. Fugaku has a terrible temper and we honestly can't take seeing you two suffering alone anymore. This way you'll at least be together." She patted both boys' cheeks soothingly even as she herself felt about to cry from supressing her anger at the eldest Uchiha.

That night, with bags packed away and fingers intertwined, Sasuke and Naruto left Konoha.

\----With Fugaku and Mikoto-----

"Why would you do that!?" Mikoto slammed her husband against the wall of the entryway as soon as the door had shut. They had walked in fury paced silence because the man refused to answer her. She was beyond pissed that he was ignoring her again and had left their son bruised in the snow.

Fugaku couldn't look at his wife so hed hung his head instead. He'd done it again, had laid a hand on his son and hurt him again even after he'd sworn he wouldn't do it. "Uchiha Fugaku answer me! What in the world makes you think that you could just do that AGAIN!? You already did it once and you promised me...when we moved away...that you wouldn't hurt Sasuke again." She felt tears in her eyes as she looked pleadingly at her husband. When the man remained quiet she pushed slightly away.

"I don't understand why you're so against them together. I never knew you were homophobic Fugaku. You never expressed anything like it until it turned out that Sasuke was. But you love him. I know you do. So why are you doing all this?" The raven haired woman laid her hands on the front of his coat and gently traced circles into the fabric as she leaned into him. She hadn't noticed that they had sagged onto the floor.

"A part of me feels disgusted by it all. It's unnatural for two men to be together. When I saw them, all I could feel was rejection and disgust and more than that, I felt fear. I was afraid for them Mikoto. I love them. From the very moment that I'd held them, I loved them but the part of me that cringed in disgust was what scared me. If someone like me could conjure up such negative feelings for them, I who have loved them since they had come into this world, what about everyone else? They would hate them. They would hurt them." Mikoto felt her husband breathe in deeply. She still couldn't see his eyes but she saw the tear tracks down his face. She felt his regret. Circling a delicate finger on his chest, she placed her forehead over his heart and felt the unsteady beats as if they were against her own. "You silly man. That's why we have to be the ones to protect them. I mean show them support and love and care even if we don't agree with them."

Dark eyes searched for her husband's once more and finally connected. She took his face in her hands and gently squeezed. "All this time, you wanted him to stop just so you could protect him." Fugaku hadn't expected her to lightly slap him. It was almost gentle but it had caught him in surprise enough that his head had been turned to the side. When he looked at his wife again with hurt and confusion, she was crying as well but she was smiling at him.

"You stupid stupid man. Why the hell didn't you just say so in the first place?" She slapped him again but he was ready this time and caught her hand after. He laughed at her then. It was a pained laugh covered with tears. She slapped him twice now. Two for the times he'd hurt their baby. "We could have avoided all of this. We could have spent the last four years trying to understand each other rather than me being scared that you would flip out some day or that Sasuke would up and disappear." She leaned into him and he wrapped her in his arms. "I've been so afraid that this would be it for our family Fugaku."

"It won't be. I swear it won't. I'll fix this. I promise Miko." He rocked them together until dawn shined through the windows. The house was cold but the couple felt so warm wrapped in each other. It felt so peaceful and complete. They hadn't been like this since they'd moved away and Fugaku realized that this was what he'd been denying Sasuke of, the warmth and completeness you feel in your lover's embrace. He had much to apologize to his son for.

Gently shifting, he took stock of his body. His legs had gone numb and his back hurt. He was also thirsty from crying and he was sure his wife was the same. "Miko-chan. It's time to wake up." He whispered gently into her ear. The woman's nose twitched. "Fugakuuu. You have morning breath." He laughed loudly at that and waited for her to get up on her own. "Go get changed. I'll go apologize to the boys later today."

The woman nodded and tried to smooth her hair. A shower sounded heavenly right now.

As she went to her shower, Fugaku went to the phone to call Minato and explain things and hopefully smooth things over with the man before going over to talk to his son. 'Sons. Naruto is just as much my child as Sasuke. Always was.'

Mikoto finished her quick shower and now had a cool towel over her eyes. They were puffy from crying for hours earlier and truthfully her body ached from being in such an awkward position all night. It was a pain to not be as young. Right now, she wanted her family though. Sasuke she could understand but Itachi hadn't gone home to check up on them either. This was good. if he was with Sasuke then this was good.

Loud yelling reached her all the way atop the stairs to their bedroom. "What do you mean they're gone? What did-? Why would you do that!? Did you not think that Naruto was perfectly capable of-. Alright. I understand. We'll had over there as soon as we can." Fugaku smoothed a hand down his face in aggravation. Mikoto went to him quickly. "What happened?" Worry stated to choose through her when Fugaku sighed.

"They don't know where Sasuke and Naruto are. They ran away."

\--------------

It was almost a year now since they'd last track of the two. Itachi received word that they hadn't arrived in Ame as planned and when he investigated, he found that the two had gotten off the train and gone somewhere else. No one knew where. Naruto had done a fantastic job covering their tracks and almost a year later, they had nothing on the two teens.

He'd never seen his father so worried. The man had looked terrified when they'd given him the news face to face. It was like his world had fallen apart. His mother had been the same. She stricken with worry.

They all sat in the living room of the Namikaze household. The Namikaze couple and his parents sat in heavy silence. Another lead had turned into a dead end. "It's best not to worry anymore." He spoke up. When all of their attention turned to him, he continued. "Naruto won't let them be found as long as they don't want to. It's best to just leave them until they decide to come back."

No one asked what they would do if the two didn't want to. They knew they wouldn't be able to do anything about it anyway.

\---------

There was a heavy silence in the classroom as everyone thought about the recently disappeared couple. Word was that they had eloped and it had shocked everyone who hadn't been aware about them.

"Man. Stupid dumb ass Naruto. He didn't even bother to tell us about him and emo boy. I thought we were all friends here!" Kiba was pissed. He'd been friends with the blond for a long time and he felt betrayed that the boy couldn't even bother to tell him that he was gay or that he was having trouble getting the in-laws' approval. What's more, he hadn't even said good bye. That was just cold.

"Can it dog-breath. We're all just as pissed." Ino sat in her corner. She felt heartbroken that her Sasuke-kun was gay but more than that, she was worried. They were just graduating high school. Would those two really be okay out there? "They didn't even bother telling us and that's why I'm so pissed. There they go into their own little world and leaving us in the dark." Kiba kicked the desk in front of him which happened to belong to the missing blond. "Didn't they even think that we'd be worried about them at least?"

No one said anything after that and the somber atmosphere continued to cloud the room well into the new years.

\------7 years later------

Sasuke awoke to a cool breeze flowing into the window. Opening a sparkling obsidian eye, he closed the window and looked around their bedroom. Beside him was his lover, snoring loudly until he felt choked by the lack of body heat next to him. Sasuke chuckled at the cute display.

"-s'ke." The blond groaned and groped around for his lover. Leaning down, he whispered into the blond's ear. "Naru-chan. Time to get up. We gotta set up the house today, remember?"

A cute nose crinkled before the blond pushed him gently away. "Your breath stinks teme." Naruto rose up and looked towards his lover before planting himself firmly in the man's lap and trying to fall asleep once again. Sasuke chuckled more at this, a deep rumble that a Naruto loved to hear.

"That's not what you said last night dobe." With that, he placed a cold hand under his lover's ass and scooped him up and into the shower with the blond complaining the whole time about damn cold hands.

Outside the first snow started to fall on the ground of Suna. A certain raven-haired man walked towards a familiar address. He looked aged with worry and frown lines though still young-looking for his real age. Holding his hand was a beautiful woman, also matured but still elegant with her flowing dark hair. A few strands of silver laced her long mane but only served to make her look ethereal in the winter morning.

Behind them was a group consisting of a pink haired woman swollen with child yet still lovely to look at, if not more so enchanting in her pregnancy. An older blond gentle man assisted her while a woman with flowing red locks carried a huge pile of presents.

"Seriously, why'd they have to host this year's party? I'm finding it hard to walk over here." Sakura complained. She hated the sandy terrain of Suna. It was hard to walk through specially now that she was essentially wobbling her way everywhere. "Sasori-kun did offer to help you around, my dear." Kushina reminded the girl to which she got a grimace which made her laugh. "Please don't remind me. I think that guy's stalking me now."

"Wouldn't be surprised. You are a very beautiful lady Sakura." Minato told the girl as she continued to waddle her way. They hadn't even known that the girl was pregnant until they'd seen her trying to get away from a handsome red head with mousy hair. They hadn't even known she was coming to this year's party as she always spent it with her parents.

Finally they'd reachedthe house, much to Sakura's utter relief, and knocked on the door.

A pale man opened it and he wore a thick wooly sweater of dark blue and white. He offered them all a small smile before letting everyone in.

"Merry Christmas!"

As Sasuke was about to close the door, he spotted his brother not too far away with his own stack of presents.

When everyone was settled away, they sang and ate and played games and discussed everyone's year. Then they moved on to gifts.

They'd gotten some expensive stuff from the Uchihas as usual. Naruto and Sasuke had gotten all the women spa passes at their friend Anko's place. The women was miraculous at acupuncture and Sakura was sure to need all the relaxing she could get since it had been awhile since she'd seen her toes.

The men got watches, gadgets and other things. Naruto opened a box from his mother to find a light pink apron with orange lining. "Mom!" Naruto pouted. "Oh come on. You can wear it to work." The red head smiled as she imagined her son wearing her handmade creation. It even had little stick figures of boys and girls at the bottom.

Naruto loved it of course but it was still kinda embarrassing to receive handmade stuff though he was sure the kids at the daycare center he worked at would think it was cute. He might even get Konohamaru to declare pink a manly color. He put the thing away gently before he felt Sasuke squeeze his hand.

Fugaku looked up from the platinum watch he had received from the boys when his youngest cleared his throat. All eyes turned to the couple then.

"Ah..we actually have a little surprise for everyone here." Naruto blushed before he and Sasuke stood up. "As you all know, Sasuke and I can't have children together. But it would be such a big waste if these genes aren't passed down to the next generation." He winked at everyone and Sakura piped in. "Isn't a total waste." To which everyone laughed.

"But we all know how you all wanted to be grandparents so..."

Sasuke helped Sakura stand up and announced, "Sakura agreed to be our surrogate mother. This little tike in here." He fondly caressed Sakura's belly. "Is your future grandson."

The three grinned brightly at everyone's surprised faces before the women practically tackled them in excitement. "Wait wait wait wait wait!" She had to scream to get the future grandmothers to quiet down. "It's actually future grandchildren. I found out that I'm having fraternal twins." Now even Naruto and Sasuke were speechless before more cries of joy erupted and the families celebrated anew.

A few weeks later, a blonde girl and a raven haired boy were born and it truly was a happy Christmas for them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sakura didn't go to the first Christmas Party at the Namikazes becuse she spent it with her family.   
> Also, she did promise the boys a huge Christmas gift for being good friends with her enough to trust her with their secret relationship. But I think she would have agreed to be their surrogate even without that self-promise. 
> 
> Hehe, I like SasoSaku so I'll just throw in a little hint in there. Maybe I'll be able to write a fanfic about them someday.


End file.
